fishing with a handline

[RescueRiley]

I've been curious about this..does anybosy have any experience or tips in this area?? Tonym perhaps??

 

[jca21]

i used hand reels when i was in aussi. they were quite functional once you got the hang of it. the casting was a bit tricky but that didnt take long to figure out and once i did i was able to cast it fairly far and caught plenty fish with it.

are you considering making something like ray mears uses in the rocky mountain survival episode? the hobo fishing technique? i believe he just wraps some line around an empty pop can and uses it for fishing.

JC

 

[Bushman5]

Before it was banned in BC i used to handline as a kid/teen all the time. I'd wrap the line (about 8 - 10') around a short 6" stick, tie it off (this becomes the handle - fishline cuts hurt otherwise). I'd attach a float and a splitshot and the hook, cast it out, wait for the bobber to drop and yank, then walk up onto the bank with the fish

 

[jca21]

Before it was banned in BC i used to handline as a kid/teen all the time. I'd wrap the line (about 8 - 10') around a short 6" stick, tie it off (this becomes the handle - fishline cuts hurt otherwise). I'd attach a float and a splitshot and the hook, cast it out, wait for the bobber to drop and yank, then walk up onto the bank with the fish

why was it banned? thats friggen stupid. i used to see an old fella by my place hand lining all the time and no body gave a hoot.

hand lining is a great way to fish when you dont wanna pack a full reel and rod.

 

[RescueRiley]

illegal huh?? that's odd I would have thought it was a fairer method of chase as opposed to rod and reel...I'll never figure out the law makers...

 

[Bushman5]

dont know, only the First Nations can handline. You and me and every one else get massive tickets by DFO

 

[takao]

Handline used to common in Hawaii, I haven't seen it done in a few years. I used to use cord as a main line and put it through a surgical tubing about a foot long tie off the ends so that the surgical tubing will give resistance to the fish. The leader would have mono, lead, and hook and bait.

Hope this helped

 

[DaleW]

I've fished with a hand line out of a kayak. The firs time I hooked one, I got so excited I nearly capsized. It is really a different feeling than a pole-- you can feel the power of the fish. A "Cuban YoYo" hand reel is the way to go. They work great for flying kites too.

http://www.palmbaybaitandtackle.com/products/cubanyoyo.htm

When fishing salt water, a lead jig with a rubber worm works great for rockfish and similar species.

 

[Wotan]

Fishing with a hand line is quite common here. From a boat at sea that is. Although some use hand lines in fresh water lakes too.
Picture below shows a common setup for sea fishing.

Let the lure touch the sea bottom, wind in ap. 1-2 meter line and begin jerking the line a little making the lure move up and down in the sea. Thats about it.

Tor

 

[Jose Wales]

I fish from my Kayak with a chalk line.

 

[baldtaco-II]

The mention of hand lines makes me think of emergency fishing. If you're after something more akin to sport fishing this post isn't for you.

Findings here:

Small hooks are open to all. This is murder not sport. I don't care how far my quarry ingests it.

All that float business is all well and fun but largely a waste of time and effort. It takes up space in your kit for minimal returns. In the event you are in an area with mullet or something you just need a method to keep your terminal rigs at the top – that can be done with things you find along the edge of the water. Split shot is worth having though.

An eel bag is more productive than fishing. It can be baited with all sorts of rubbish including bacon rind, and you'll haul out a sack full on a bit of paracord easier than you'll ever pull out the same weight on a line. It is also lazy.

Use two sorts of line. I use 30lb sea fishing line to do the donkey work and much smaller line to make up each trace running from it. Attaching traces using snap swivels is convenient. Again lazy. A lot of 30lb line can be carried without significant penalty. I've seen advocates of running traces from paracord. That's all dandy but you'd need a lot of paracord to match a spool of 30lb line.

Digging bait is tough on tools. True, you can make a digging stick, but anyone that has ever tried mashing and clawing at the ground with one should confess to how tedious that is. Digging in the ground with your primary cutting tool is retarded, period. Use a dedicated tool of some sort. I currently use a small thin fork thing designed for pulling weeds. That is a good compromise between space / weight / functionality. I'm sure there are many other things that can fill the gap.

Be a jackal not a lion. The fantasy of grabbing that nice plump trout on your spinner might keep you warm while you're waiting, but not so warm as the guy already sitting round the fire that has a couple of pounds of eels cooking away.

Below is mah woman on her first eel hunt.

 

[j_d]

Ive caught a few fish on a handline. It can be tough on the hands when they are bigger (catfish). I also saw some old guys on a pier in Michigan using handlines wrapped on soda cans. They were able to cast off of them.
josh

 

[runningboar]

Ive caught a few fish on a handline. It can be tough on the hands when they are bigger (catfish). I also saw some old guys on a pier in Michigan using handlines wrapped on soda cans. They were able to cast off of them.
josh

Glass coke bottles work great too, the shape of the bottle lets you get some impressive casts. Chris

 

[Fiddleback]

The illegals here in Atlanta line the shore with line tied around cans on Sundays. I've never seen them catch anything, but they must be having some success. I've never understood this technique, vs making a cane pole. The spring in the pole makes catching fish more successful, and already down, springy limbs work great for this. We used to bring line and tackle, and make cane poles to catch bream, crappy, and catfish in the Boy Scouts all the time.

So I just dont get standing there using a can.

 

[runningboar]

The illegals here in Atlanta line the shore with line tied around cans on Sundays. I've never seen them catch anything, but they must be having some success. I've never understood this technique, vs making a cane pole. The spring in the pole makes catching fish more successful, and already down, springy limbs work great for this. We used to bring line and tackle, and make cane poles to catch bream, crappy, and catfish in the Boy Scouts all the time.

So I just dont get standing there using a can.

Agreed 100%.

If we are talking survival not recreation, limb lines and trot lines for me.

The only advantage I can think of for the handlines is portability and casting but as you said cane poles are much easier to land fish IMO. Chris

 

[Fiddleback]

Plus, with today's 20Lb spiderwire being so thin and easy to tie, you can't go wrong with a cane pole. You can cary so much line now compared to monofilament, that you can just cut the line from the pole, move on, remake a new pole, cut the line, move on, and really never worry about running out.

 

[91xlt]

interesting thread!

great pics baldtacoII !!!

 

[myright]

I've used a section of an old bicycle seat tube off an old bicycle. I shortened a bit and left the neck on it where the seat attached to it so I had something to hold on to. If you hold it straight out in front of you it "casts" ok. I stress just ok because I found myself having to strip some line off prior to the cast. Retrieval is no problem although it would go a lot quicker if I used something larger in diameter. I've caought ~1lb largemouth and countless bluegills using this method.

I now use that seat tube to hold the anchor line on my Jon boat. Where I live the water is no more than 6-8 feet in the ponds so I don't need to strip that much line off so it's not a problem.

I want to try something different next time - I'm thinking my Nalgene bottle using the line from my kit - Not sure.

I really enjoy finding ways to fish other than the typical rod and reel.

A long cane pole with a similar length of line attached to it would do well also but wouldn't work well at all with anything more than a bluegill depending on the size of the pole you are using and your knot skills.

 

[Chris_Norden]

As already mentioned, here in Australia handling is still really common. I learnt to fish with a handline (used to be able to get a rigged up plastic spool from almost every gas station for under $2) and nothing is quite like it. If the fish are less than a foot long (and a lot of the "bread and butter" fish are) I prefer the handline if I dont have to cast more than 15 yards. The feel is much better. But I find it impossible to handline with lures.

Tips? Same as using a rod/pole. Let the fish nibble and strike when you feel the weight of the fish or see the line run rather then a tug. If you can fish with a pole, you'll do fine with a handline.

For larger fish people used to used gloves so the line didn't cut or burn their hands.

BTW a great hobo real (much better than a can IMO) is a soft drink bottle. The centre-taper shape allows good casting and line holding, while the neck makes a good handle.

Good luck

Chris

 

[runningboar]

A long cane pole with a similar length of line attached to it would do well also but wouldn't work well at all with anything more than a bluegill depending on the size of the pole you are using and your knot skills.

I've ate a lot of catfish that would disagree.

When cane poling, or swarp fishing as my grandpa called it, the line is not just tied to the end of the pole, it is wrapped up the pole from the handle and tied off at the tip. Chris